Deaths Blamed On General Santos City Brownouts

General Santos City, Philippines

The brownouts here in General Santos City, Philippines have recently claimed a couple of lives.  Two asthmatic locals of the city died because they weren't able to use their nebulizers while having an asthma attack amidst the brownout.

On Tuesday, April 16, Ignacio Sombrio, 54, of Dadiangas North Village died after an asthma attack.  The wife said that “He was unable to use his nebulizer because of the brownout.  He would have been alive if not for that.

Ignacio’s is the second fatality being attributed to the brownout.  A few weeks earlier, Cristituta Ferrer, 46, of Tambler village in General Santos City, also was unable to use her nebulizer during an asthma attack in the middle of a brownout, her family said.

Asphyxia remains the most common mechanism of death in severe asthma and continous nebulization should be administered.

Power outages here in General Santos City sometimes lasts for seven to eight hours.  Except for the cities of Davao and Cotabato that switch to alternative power providers, the entire Mindanao region has been suffering daily outages.